Finding Family
by Brownie94
Summary: Tony Sheppard,who has no idea who is dad is,comes home one day to find his sister,Kate,& his mom,Jenny,director of NCIS missing.Special Agent Gibbs and his team are sent to lead the search; Connections are made, secrets are discovered,& a father is found.
1. Missing

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or Michael Weatherly…because if I did then Jeanne and Tony would have never broken up and Kate would have never died.

Um, Hi! This is my first NCIS fic…hope you like it. It's just an idea I had last night, and it would not stop badgering me until I had down on paper. So, hope you like it. Love, Brownie.

**Finding Family**

Chapter 1: Missing

Twelve year old Tony Sheppard smiled as he entered his house, yelling, "I'm home," as he dumped his backpack on the floor next to the main door, locked said door, and then raced for the kitchen because that was where he though his mom, who had taken a day off of work, and his sister, who was home because it was Senior Skip Day, would be and because he was starving. He blamed the fact that he hadn't realized anything was wrong – for one it was too quite – wrong until he entered the kitchen and saw the mess it was in on hunger.

There were shattered plate fragments all over the floor – a sign of struggle –, but what really scared him were the drops of blood all over the room and the big puddle near the sink and next to a vase with traces of blood on it. Obviously, someone had hit somebody on the head with it; he only hoped it was either his mother, Jenny Sheppard – Director of NCIS, or his sister, Kate – a senior at Washington High School, that had been the one doing the hitting.

Now, most kids would have been panicking, but not Tony, he did what he had been taught to do incase of an emergency since he had been old enough to talk; he walked to the living room, picked up the phone, and called NCIS, more specifically his mother's secretary Cynthia, thinking that he had to get cops here first, he could panic later, a second could be the difference between life and death of his family.

He cut Cynthia off when she started to say, "This is NCIS, how can I help you today?"

"Cynthia, this is Tony…" he started and then, after taking a deep breath and squeezing his eyes shut tightly, hoping with all his might that he would wake up from this nightmare, he continued, "I…I think my mom and Kate have been kidnapped." And that was when the truth of the matter kicked in and a choked sob almost came out, but he held it back, although with great difficulty, "I need a team sent to my house ASAP."

He hear Cynthia, make a call to someone and then address him, "They'll be there in fifteen, T…", Cynthia would have continued, but Tony having heard what he had needed to hung up on her, usually he wouldn't so rude, but these weren't exactly normal circumstance, now, were they.

Tony sat on the couch as he waited with his elbow on his knees and his face in his hands; now that he'd done everything he could and didn't have anything to occupy his mind, he couldn't control his emotions. He couldn't believe this was happening! The house was supposed to be their safe haven, their sanctuary, and now their sanctuary had been compromised and his family was God knows where. Tony squashed the tears that were threatening to pour out ruthlessly, now was not the time to cry…he could do that later, when his mother and sister were there to comfort him.

Tony was still in that position when the sound of roaring engines caused him to jump up in surprise and then race to the door when he realized the only people it could be – the feds. They had gotten there sooner than he'd thought they would – it had only been about five minutes since he'd called.

Once he was at the door, he opened it and continued to run, only stopping when his head collided with something solid and his butt made contact with the concrete of the driveway. Sitting on the driveway with his arms behind his back and holding his weight, a dazed Tony, looked up and into blue eyes that seemed painfully familiar, but he couldn't place for the life of him and so he asked, "Do I know you?"

The owner of the eyes, a man with salt and pepper hair and who looked to be not much older than his mother, helped him up and replied, "I don't think so."

"Oh, okay," said Tony, brushing his hands of on his Nirvana t-shirt, somehow keeping his cool despite the circumstances. He then held out his hand and introduced himself, like his mama had taught him, "Hi, I'm Tony…Tony Sheppard."

He didn't miss the secondary flicker of surprise in the man's eyes before the man hid it and then shook the offered hand, "Hi, Tony. My name is Gibbs…Special Agent Gibbs. Can you tell me what happened?"

…TBC…

(If you want me to)

So what do you think? Good, bad, iffy? Should I continue?

Reviews and Constructive Criticism are always appreciated.

Thanks, hope you like it, love Brownie.


	2. Surprises I

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or Michael Weatherly…because if I did then Jeanne and Tony would have never broken up and Kate would have never died.

Hey, Guys!! Thank you *so* much for the awesome reviews, 21 is a first for my first chapter. I am so happy you guys like it and hope you keep liking it.

By the way, the John Wayne character is the detective from metro that Jeanne used to go out with, who Tony started to become friends with, and who died, although I am pretty sure Wayne is not his last name. Anyway, I like the character.

Oh yeah, I am starting a poll for this story. Do you want:

Tony/Jeanne

Tony/Kelly (where she is not Gibbs' daughter)

No Tony pairing, more family centric

Please vote. Thank you once more and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love, Brownie. 

**Finding Family**

Chapter 2: Surprises I

Gibbs had been surprised when Cynthia, Jenny's secretary, had called him to report a possible missing person's case – usually they were called in by dispatch and LEOs – and then she hadn't elaborated, just told him that it was important and that he should get there as fast as possible. And, so, that was exactly what Gibbs and his team: Ziva David, the holder of the Mossad Liaison position at NCIS and a trained assassin, Timothy McGee, geek extraordinaire and a pretty good field agent, and last, but not least, John Wayne, the newest member of the team and a great investigator to boot, raced to the house that was fifteen miles away from the station.

They made it there in about five minutes breaking only five or six traffic regulations, which was less than the usual for Gibbs, but then again they usually had a greater distance to travel. Once there, they quickly got out and went to get their gear, but not before they caught a glimpse of the house; it was perfect, there was no other way to describe it. It was a single-story brick house with a beautiful, well taken-care- of garden, a built-in underground pool, a basketball hoop installed on the driveway, and last, but not least, two soccer nets in the backyard. All in all it was a child's dream-house.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of their minds, they grabbed their gear and headed for the house, talking the whole way, which was probably why Gibb's didn't notice the boy running their way until he felt something hit his stomach and then saw a boy fall on the ground, landing on his butt with a grunt and keeping himself from falling the rest of the way with his hands. The boy, based on his height: about five foot flat, looked to be about ten years old. His skin was a healthy tan color and his long hair was light brown with some blonde tips, both evidence of many days spent in the sun.

He was wearing dark blue jeans, those damned black and white flat shoes that were all the rage these days, and a black t-shirt which read Nirvana and had demented smiley faces painted on the front. Gibbs completely lost his train of thought when the tilted his head to the side curiously, looked up at him through the aforementioned mop of brown hair and looked up at him with bright blue eyes that seemed awfully familiar. Apparently the boy was in the same frame of mind because the first words out of his mouth were not 'Hi' or 'Who are you', but "Do I know you?"

Upon hearing the question, Gibbs thought about it hard, but he couldn't recall ever meeting the kid. More importantly, however, he couldn't, for the life of him, place where he'd seen those eyes. And seen them he had, he'd bet his life on it.

Gibbs was so busy trying to remember where he'd seen the very memorable eyes that he forgot there was a little boy waiting for his answer, a fact that he was reminded of when John, who was still learning the ropes at NCIS after transferring from Metro, coughed and pulled him out of his thoughts.

Now concentrating on their new case and putting the blue eyes mystery in the back of his mind for a rainy day, Gibbs held his right hand out to the boy and felt _something_, something he couldn't identify, an action that was taking place a lot lately, when the boy slid his much smaller, but no less calloused hand into his much larger one and allowed him to pull him up. If he had to describe the feeling, Gibbs would describe it as pride, love, and unequivocal joy, but he couldn't understand how he could feel love for the kid; hell, he didn't even know his name. **'Wait'**, thought Gibbs as the last thought ran through his head,** 'now **_**that**_** is something I can change.'**

"I don't think so," he said, finally replying to the boy's question more than five minutes after he'd asked. He prepared himself for more questions or for the tears that came when someone realized that a crime had taken place at their house, a crime that involved their loved ones. He was, therefore, surprised when all the boy did was shrug and then say, "Oh, okay." Not for the first time in his life, Gibbs had to marvel at kids, especially this one. This one was special because not only did his brain work in a mysterious way, but he also handled what was probably the most traumatic experience of his small life with more finesse than adults and even weathered marines that Gibbs had seen in the same circumstances.

The little boy had used the few seconds that Gibbs had been thinking to wipe his hands off on his t-shirt, leaving behind two symmetrical streaks of white on his t-shirt, and then hold his hand out for a proper introduction, "Hi, I'm Tony…Tony Sheppard."

Gibbs, who had been moving his hand up to shake Tony's, looked up when he heard the last name and his eyes widened in surprise before he quickly covered it up, '**it couldn't be, could it?' **Then thinking '**Naw, I would have realized it if Jenny had kids,' **Gibbs finally shook the ki….Tony's hand and said, "Hi, Tony. My name is Gibbs…Special Agent Gibbs. Can you tell me what happened?"

He watched closely for the kid's reaction, somehow knowing that this kid would try to repress his emotions, but he hadn't thought he'd be this good at it. Tony was so good that if he, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, hadn't perfected the same art years ago, he would have gotten away with no one knowing. But since he _was _experienced in the same art, Gibbs _did_ catch the way he subtly swallowed and his eyes widened when he asked the question, the way he furrowed his brow, making it look like he was concentrating, while in reality he was trying to hold in the tears that threatened to pour out, and last, but not least, Gibbs noticed the way his bottom lip quivered before he bit down on it: giving the feeling that he was thinking about it before he said, "Yeah."

He then pivoted on his right foot so that he was facing the house and, then, started walking up the driveway with Gibbs immediately falling in step with him and the team falling in step behind them.

…TBC…

(If you want me to)

So what do you think? Good, bad, iffy? Should I continue?

Reviews and Constructive Criticism are always appreciated and you can always vote in your review.

Next chapter: Tony talks about what he saw and what he was doing before he got home. We may even see Kate and Jenny and people might start putting the pieces together.

Thanks, hope you like it, love Brownie.


	3. Surprises II

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or Michael Weatherly…because if I did then Jeanne and Tony would have never broken up and Kate would have never died.

Hey, guys, thanks to those who reviewed. I am sorry for the long wait, but here's the update.

As for the poll, I've decided that there isn't going to be a pairing.

Thank you once more and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love, Brownie. 

**Finding Family**

Chapter 3: Surprises II

Tony turned on his foot and headed for the door, somehow knowing that Agent Gibbs and his team would follow. He slowed to a stop in front of the door and squeezed his eyes shut, sending a quick prayer,** 'God, please don't let them find something worse this time around. Amen,' **up before taking a deep breath and entering the house. He then lead them past the main hallway which was decorated with picture of their little family ranging from his basketball pictures to family portraits and to the kitchen door, letting them go in, but not following.

"Um, I came in here at about twenty-five minutes ago from school. I thought Mom would be cooking in the kitchen because she finally had a day off," he told Agent Gibbs, who was kneeling on the ground next to the vase and the puddle of blood.

He was about to continue when Gibbs, after turning his head to face him asked, "Did you touch anything, move it?"

"No," answered Tony, entering the room after releasing a deep breath and then crouching down next to Gibbs, who stared at him with an upraised eyebrow, as if asking, 'what do you think you're doing in here?' And so Tony answered the unvoiced question, "Tellin' you what I know."

Gibbs smiled…well he quirked the corner of his mouth up – Tony was pretty sure that counted as a smile – and asked, "And _what _can you tell me that I don't already know?"

**************************************************************

_Gibbs' pov_

Gibbs followed Tony inside in a daze, not taking anything in until they reached the kitchen and then entered through the door. He snapped on a pair of gloves, an action that the rest of the team copied, and then crouched down next to a suspicious look vase. He realized that the kid wasn't in the kitchen when he heard, "Um, I came in here at about twenty-five minutes ago from school. I thought Mom would be cooking in the kitchen because she finally had a day off," from outside the room.

That was when he asked, "Did you touch anything, move it?" He felt an unexplainable feeling of pride when the kid answered, "No." He definitely wasn't expecting the kid to head in and raised his eyebrow, contemplation on whether or not he should ask the question. After all, the kid had just gone through – scratch that, _was _going through a traumatic experience.

The kid, who it seemed was hell bent on surprising him, had apparently heard his unspoken question because he replied, "Tellin' you what I know."

Gibbs had no idea how the kid had crept under his defenses and into his heart, but he had, the smile on his face proved it, "And _what _can you tell me that I don't already know?"

**************************************************************

_Tony's pov_

It was a challenge and Tony, never having been one to turn down a challenge or lose at one, accepted and answered, "Well, you probably know that the vase hit someone's head from the blood stain and that the medium-velocity blood splatter," he said pointing toward the puddle of blood, "means that not a lot of force was put behind the blow." At this point in their conversation, Gibbs' team wasn't turned toward them, but Tony knew without a doubt that they were listening, probably thinking, **'What could the little boy know that we don't.' **And if they were, then Tony would show them.

"Okay, but I knew that," stated Gibbs, but was cut off by Tony before he could continue. "Hold your kinkajous, Agent Gibbs. I'm getting there."

"Its horses," corrected the guy with the wavy brown hair, before biting his tongue and looking at Gibbs worriedly, as if expecting a reprimand, relaxing when it didn't come.

"I know that," said Tony matter-of-factly after turning to face the man who'd addressed him, "Kinkajous sounds better, don't ya think?...By the way, who are you?"

"I'm John," answered the guy as he resumed bagging and tagging stuff.

"I'd like to say it's nice to meet you," said Tony, "but, honestly, I wish to death that it didn't have to happen." When John didn't reply, apparently not knowing what to say, Tony turned back to Gibbs, who'd moved on to the shattered plate pieces on the ground, and restarted their conversation, "What you probably _didn't_ notice, Agent Gibbs, is that along with a flow pattern" he pointed toward the blood drops heading toward the direction of the door, "there's also a pool pattern, right there." This time he was pointing toward the thick drop right next to the kitchen counter that lead another flow pattern, "See, the bleeding person…" he paused, bit his lip, then continued, "hesitated right here, then ran toward the sink."

He then stood up and followed the trail of blood to the sink which was next to the dish rack. Making sure he didn't step on the shattered pieces of his mom's second-favorite, china set, he moved closer to the sink, looking at its single item. Streching, he grabbed a paper towel from the roll next to the microwave, which was about two feet away from him, and used it to grab the manual dough roller. Smirking, he held up the aforementioned appliance and said, "Probably with this in their hands."

…TBC…

(If you want me to)

So what do you think? Good, bad, iffy? Should I continue?

Reviews and Constructive Criticism are always appreciated and you can always vote in your review.

I know we didn't see any Jenny or Kate, but, whenever I write, these things take on a life of their own.

Thanks, hope you like it, love Brownie.


	4. My Girl…Wait, It’s My Son

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or Michael Weatherly…because if I did then there would be no hiatuses.

Hey, guys, thanks to those who reviewed. I am sorry for the long wait, but here's the update. If you want to thank anyone for this, thanks the new episode. It's my inspiration! I can't wait!! Is anyone as excited as I am? Go Tony DiNozzo!!

Thank you once more and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love, Brownie. 

**Finding Family**

Chapter 4: My Girl…Wait, It's My Son

Tony thought the whole team, excluding Gibbs', eyes would pop out when they saw him holding the dough roller; it had an impressive amount of blood on it, a fact that Tony chose to ignore. He didn't know if he should be insulted at the team's apparent doubt of his detective skills or be bursting out laughing because of the comical expressions that were covering their respective faces. After all that was Tony's coping mechanism: ignore the problem and be a smarta…aleck.

But, before Tony could pick the latter, Gibbs, who had been staring at him for the past minute: an act that was really starting to creep Tony out, pulled himself out of his daze and took the roller into his gloved hand and then placed it into an evidence bag. He then murmured, "Good work, Tony," and Tony was hit with such feelings of happiness that he'd only ever felt when his mom had been proud of him. Tony didn't want to speculate why Gibbs' praise meant so much to him, and was grateful when he was pulled out of his thoughts by Gibbs' voice, "Come on, Tony," and an ushering hand on his back.

As he was being led out of the kitchen, somehow knowing that Gibbs was coming with him, Tony protested, "The crime scene…"

"They've got it," Gibbs interrupted, pointing at the team, and, when Tony saw that that was indeed true, he gave up the fight and walked out of the door and into the hallway.

**************************************************************

"How are you feeling?" asked Gibbs, after a moment of awkward silence.

Tony stopped walking and leaned his back against a wall, thinking about his answer. _**'**__Got it',_ he thought, before answering"What are you: a psychiatrist?"

He'd expected Gibbs, who was leaning against the opposite wall and facing him, to say something Gibbsy, but when he didn't, Tony called, "Gibbs?" And, when even that didn't generate a response, Tony followed Gibbs' line of sight to a family portrait and that's when it hit him, _'Crap, no one knows that the Director of NCIS has kids and that she doesn't live at her family home. Dang it!_

"Gibbs!" said Tony, waving his right hand in front of Gibbs' eyes for extra effect, sighing in relief when the man looked up at him and answered, "What's wrong?"

**************************************************************

_Gibbs' pov_

After shutting the door, we walked down the hall, and because I couldn't take it anymore and because I was worried, something I'm never going to admit,I asked, "How are you feeling?" I noticed him turning and so I did the same and leaned against the opposite wall. As I waited for him to put together a response, my eyes shifter to the pictures covering the wall and one particular one knocked the breath out of me. It was a family portrait: of Tony, what I assumed was his sister, and his mom, namely Jenny Sheppard: my ex.

'_No way, it can't be. She would have told me.'_ I had this whole argument going on in my head about why they couldn't be my kids, but a traitorous voice in my head kept saying, '_No, she wouldn't have. You cheated on her!' _

'_Wait,' _I thought,_ 'we "hooked up", as the kids would say, eighteen years ago, so Tony can't be mine, but his sister, she's the perfect age.'_Now, the voice, which had just been telling him that the kids were his, switched sides, _'There are plenty of people she could have dated in a year, Jethro.'_

I was pulled out of my thoughts by someone exclaiming, "Gibbs" and when I came to the real world, I saw a hand waving in front of my face and when it moved away, I saw the blue eyes: the ones that I thought I had seen before somewhere and realized, _'They're mine…and so is he.' _

My son, _'Wow, that's incredible,'_ was still looking at me worriedly, so I tried to give a typical Gibbs response, raising an eyebrow and demanding, "Yeah?"

…TBC…

So what do you think: Good, bad, iffy?

Reviews and Constructive Criticism are always appreciated and you can always vote in your review.

Thanks, hope you like it, love Brownie.


End file.
